 |
| Screenshot of the statistics at the CPJ website |
The number of imprisoned journalists has significantly increased in 2023, with countries like Belarus and Russia using extremism and other "anti-state" laws as their "most common weapon" to silence independent media, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
In its annual report on imprisoned journalists, published on January 18, the committee reported that 321 reporters were behind bars as of December 1, the second-highest number since the start of record-keeping in 1992.
China leads the pack with 44 imprisoned journalists, the CPJ reported, followed by Myanmar with 43, Belarus with 28, and then Russia.
The total is "a disturbing barometer of entrenched authoritarianism by governments determined to silence independent voices," the CPJ noted, pointing out that more than 65 percent of imprisoned journalists face "anti-state charges such as fake news and terrorism in retaliation for their critical coverage.”
In Belarus, where the number of arrested journalists has significantly increased since widespread unrest following the controversial 2022 presidential election that gave authoritarian Alyaksandr Lukashenka his sixth consecutive mandate, the CPJ reported that 71 percent of those imprisoned face anti-state charges and nearly half of them suffer sentences of five years or more.
According to the CPJ, Russia - which began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - has also intensified its efforts to suppress free reporting.
"Moscow is trying to criminalize journalism beyond its borders by issuing arrest warrants and prison sentences in absentia, for some prominent journalists working abroad,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, 12 of the 17 non-local journalists arrested are held by Russia, including Alsu Kurmasheva - the veteran journalist at Radio Free Europe's Tatar-Bashkir Service - who has been held in Russia for three months, and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Ten other journalists from Ukraine - five of whom are Crimean Tatars - are also in Russian pretrial detention. Moscow illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
One country that the CPJ noted has seen a decrease in the number of journalists held is Iran, where the total fell to 17 from 62 in 2022.
However, the CPJ stated that many of those who were listed in 2022's registry have been conditionally released to await charges or sentencing, "which means the lower number of prisoners in 2023 in no way signals that Iran has abandoned media repression.”
"Instead, authorities have responded to increased reporting on women's rights by targeting prominent female journalists," the CPJ added, saying that eight of the eighteen still held are women.
In Central Asia, Tajikistan emerged as the country with the most imprisoned journalists, with seven cases of prison sentences ranging from seven to 20 years - all convicted since the end of 2022.
"Harsh sentences have exacerbated a pervasive climate of intimidation and self-censorship among journalists in a media environment already devastated for years by government pressure," the CPJ said, describing the findings of a team during a trip to Tajikistan at the end of 2023.
The CPJ also noted that press freedom also "deteriorated rapidly" in Azerbaijan, with presidential elections due next month.
Four media members were arrested on December 1, and at least three more since then, the CPJ said.
The first four were from the well-known investigative newspaper Abzas Media - known for its investigations into high-level state official corruption.
Azerbaijani authorities have accused U.S. and European embassies and donor organizations of illegally financing the media.
Many observers in Azerbaijan believe the government began the campaign against the U.S. as a pretext to suppress local journalists, especially since there has been no significant shift in U.S. position towards Baku.